Slide rail assembly

ABSTRACT

A slide rail assembly for mounting a chassis to a rack is provided. The chassis has multiple mounting members on a lateral side. The slide rail assembly is mounted on the rack by two brackets and includes first and second rails, a first auxiliary supporting member, and multiple reinforcing segments. The first rail has first and second sides, wherein the first side has a concave space. The second rail can be displaced with respect to the first rail and has an inner side and an outer side. The first auxiliary supporting member is mounted in the concave space of the first side of the first rail. The reinforcing segments are fixedly mounted on the inner side of the second rail.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a slide rail assembly and moreparticularly to one that includes a plurality of reinforcing segmentsconfigured to increase the structural strength of a rail withoutincreasing the width of the entire assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,939, granted to Mayer, discloses “Universal slidingrail assembly for rack mounting computers”. According to FIG. 1accompanying the specification of this US patent, a slide rail assemblyincludes an outer rail (102), a middle rail (104) slidably connected tothe outer rail (102), an inner rail (106) slidably connected to themiddle rail (104), and a bracket (200) movably connected to the outerrail (102). This slide rail assembly, however, does not have a railreinforcing structure. In view of the drawbacks of a slide rail assemblywithout a reinforcing structure, Dubon et al. disclose “Adjustablereinforcing bracket for telescoping slide rail assembly” in US PublishedPatent Application No. 2006/0152115 A1. The telescoping slide railassembly disclosed in the US published patent application of Dubon etal. includes a stationary slide rail 22, which includes a wall with anouter surface. The two ends of the stationary slide rail 22 can bemounted to a pair of posts of a rack via the mounting elements 26, 40respectively. The telescoping slide rail assembly further includes areinforcing element 32 connected to the outer surface of the wall of thestationary slide rail 22 and a mounting slide rail 34 slidably connectedto the reinforcing element 32.

According to FIG. 1 and FIG. 8 accompanying the specification of the USpublished patent application of Dubon et al., the reinforcing element32, which is configured to reinforce the stationary slide rail 22 and isconnected to the stationary slide rail 22 along with the mounting sliderail 34, adds to the width of the telescoping slide rail assembly.Therefore, when it is desired to mount a pair of such telescoping sliderail assemblies respectively at two corresponding positions of a rack,whose internal space is limited, the width of the reinforced slide railassemblies tends to hinder the mounting process, if not rendering theslide rail assemblies inapplicable. That is to say, the telescopingslide rail assembly disclosed in the US published patent application ofDubon et al. may have problem being put to industrial use.

A better design is hence desired to overcome the shortcomings statedabove of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a slide railassembly in which a first rail is reinforced by a first auxiliarysupporting member provided in a concave space of a first side of thefirst rail.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a slide railassembly in which reinforcing segments are provided to increase thestructural strength of a rail under the limitation on width.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a slide rail assemblyincludes a first rail, a second rail, and a first auxiliary supportingmember. The first rail has a first side and a second side, wherein thefirst side has a concave space. The second rail can be displaced withrespect to the first rail in a longitudinal direction. The firstauxiliary supporting member is mounted in the concave space of the firstside of the first rail.

Preferably, the first auxiliary supporting member is fixedly mounted inthe concave space of the first side of the first rail.

Preferably, the slide rail assembly further includes a third rail. Thethird rail has an upper wall, a lower wall, and a sidewall connectedbetween the upper wall and the lower wall. The upper wall, the lowerwall, and the sidewall jointly define a passage, in which the first railcan be displaced. The first auxiliary supporting member is movablyprovided in the concave space of the first side of the first rail and ismounted on the first rail through cooperation between the first rail andthe sidewall of the third rail.

Preferably, the slide rail assembly further includes a second auxiliarysupporting member fixedly mounted on the second side of the first rail.

Preferably, the first rail has a cross section of a first thickness, thesecond auxiliary supporting member has a cross section of a secondthickness, and the first thickness is slightly greater than the secondthickness.

Preferably, the second auxiliary supporting member has a first wall, asecond wall, and a third wall connected between the first wall and thesecond wall. The first wall, the second wall, and the third wall jointlydefine an auxiliary passage. A reinforcing member is mounted on an innerside of the second rail and is received in the auxiliary passage.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a slide railassembly includes a first rail, a second rail, and a plurality ofreinforcing segments. The second rail can be displaced with respect tothe first rail in a longitudinal direction. The second rail includes aninner side, an outer side, and a plurality of mounting features, whereinthe inner side corresponds to the first rail. The reinforcing segmentsare fixedly mounted on the inner side of the second rail and each haveat least one matching feature. Each matching feature of the reinforcingsegments corresponds to one of the mounting features of the second rail.

Preferably, the reinforcing segments are integrated to form areinforcing member.

Preferably, the slide rail assembly further includes a third rail, withrespect to which the first rail can be displaced in the longitudinaldirection.

Preferably, the mounting features of the second rail include a pluralityof U-shaped holes and a J-shaped hole. The J-shaped hole is adjacent toone end of the second rail.

Preferably, the matching features of the reinforcing segments include aplurality of U-shaped corresponding holes and a J-shaped correspondinghole. These U-shaped corresponding holes and J-shaped corresponding holeof the reinforcing segments correspond to the U-shaped holes and theJ-shaped hole of the second rail respectively.

Preferably, the reinforcing member has a first length, the second railhas a second length, and the first length is substantially equal to orslightly less than the second length.

Preferably, the reinforcing member has a cross section of a firstthickness, the second rail has a cross section of a second thickness,and the first thickness is less than the second thickness.

Preferably, the slide rail assembly further includes an elastic platethat extends transversely, and at an angle, from the reinforcing membertoward the first rail; the first rail has a first engaging feature; andthe elastic plate has a second engaging feature. Once the second rail isdisplaced from a first position to a second position with respect to thefirst rail, the first engaging feature is engaged with the secondengaging feature.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a slide railassembly for mounting a chassis to a rack is provided, wherein thechassis has a lateral side arranged with a plurality of mountingmembers. The slide rail assembly, mounted on the rack via a pair ofbrackets, includes a first rail, a second rail, and a reinforcingmember. The first rail has a first upper wall, a first lower wall, and afirst sidewall connected between the first upper wall and the firstlower wall. The first upper wall, the first lower wall, and the firstsidewall jointly define a first passage. The second rail can bedisplaced with respect to the first passage of the first rail and has asecond upper wall, a second lower wall, and a second sidewall connectedbetween the second upper wall and the second lower wall. The reinforcingmember is fixedly mounted on the second sidewall of the second rail andhas a first length. The second rail has a second length. The firstlength is substantially equal to or slightly less than the secondlength.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing how a chassis is mounted to theslide rail assembly in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of the circled area in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the slide rail assembly, thechassis, and the rack in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the circled area A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the circled area B in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the circled area C in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing how a reinforcing member is mountedon the second rail in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the reinforcing member and thesecond rail in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing how a first auxiliarysupporting member and a second auxiliary supporting member are mountedto two lateral sides of the first rail in the embodiment of FIG. 1respectively;

FIG. 9 is an assembled perspective view of the first auxiliarysupporting member, the second auxiliary supporting member, and the firstrail in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view the slide rail assembly in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is another sectional view of the slide rail assembly in FIG. 1,showing the second rail at a first position with respect to the firstrail;

FIG. 12 is yet another sectional view of the slide rail assembly in FIG.1, showing the second rail at a second position with respect to thefirst rail;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the circled area E in FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 shows how the second engaging feature in FIG. 13 is disengagedfrom the first engaging feature when the elastic plate is subjected toan external force.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, the slide rail assembly 10 in an embodiment of thepresent invention is configured to mount a chassis 12 to a rack 14. Therack 14 includes a pair of posts 16 on one side. A plurality of mountingmembers 18 are arranged on one side of the chassis 12. The slide railassembly 10 is mounted between the pair of posts 16 of the rack 14 via apair of brackets 20. The chassis 12 is mounted to the slide railassembly 10 via the mounting members 18.

As shown in FIG. 2, the slide rail assembly 10 includes a first rail 22,a second rail 24, and a third rail 26. As shown in FIG. 3, the firstrail 22 has a first upper wall 28, a first lower wall 30, and a firstsidewall 32 connected between the first upper wall 28 and the firstlower wall 30. The first upper wall 28, the first lower wall 30, and thefirst sidewall 32 jointly define a first passage 34. In a preferredembodiment, the front end of the first sidewall 32 of the first rail 22has at least one first engaging feature 36, e.g., a projection. The atleast one first engaging feature 36 has an inclined portion 38 and astop portion 40 located at an upper end of the inclined portion 38.Preferably, the first upper wall 28 of the first rail 22 has an innerside provided with an upper supporting strip 29 for supporting thesecond upper wall 42 of the second rail 24, and the first lower wall 30of the first rail 22 has an inner side provided with a lower supportingstrip 31 for supporting the second lower wall 44 of the second rail 24.Moreover, the first upper wall 28 of the first rail 22 is provided witha first notch 28 a, and the upper supporting strip 29 is provided with asecond notch 29 a corresponding in position to the first notch 28 a.Both the first notch 28 a and the second notch 29 a correspond to a hole68 of the second rail 24 so that one of the mounting members 18 of thechassis 12 can be mounted into the hole 68 as explained in more detailfurther below.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the second rail 24 can be displaced inthe first passage 34 of the first rail 22 and has a second upper wall42, a second lower wall 44, and a second sidewall 46 connected betweenthe second upper wall 42 and the second lower wall 44. The secondsidewall 46 of the second rail 24 has an inner side 48 a and an outerside 48 b. The inner side 48 a corresponds to the first sidewall 32 ofthe first rail 22.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the third rail 26 has a third upper wall50, a third lower wall 52, and a third sidewall 54 connected between thethird upper wall 50 and the third lower wall 52. The third upper wall50, the third lower wall 52, and the third sidewall 54 jointly define asecond passage 56, in which the first rail 22 can be displaced.

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a plurality of reinforcing segments 60are fixedly mounted on the inner side 48 a of the second sidewall 46 ofthe second rail 24 either directly or after the reinforcing segments 60are integrated to form a reinforcing member 58. Preferably, thereinforcing member 58 has a first length L1, the second rail 24 has asecond length L2, and the first length L1 is substantially equal to orslightly less than the second length L2 so that the second rail 24 isenhanced in rigidity almost along its entire length. A preferredembodiment of the present invention further includes an elastic plate 62extending transversely, and at an angle, from the reinforcing member 58.The elastic plate 62 has a second engaging feature 64, e.g., an engaginghole. In addition, the second rail 24 has a plurality of mountingfeatures, which include a plurality of U-shaped holes 66 and a J-shapedhole 68. The J-shaped hole 68 is adjacent to one end of the second rail24. The reinforcing member 58, on the other hand, has a plurality ofmatching features, which include a plurality of U-shaped correspondingholes 70 and a J-shaped corresponding hole 72. The U-shapedcorresponding holes 70 correspond to the U-shaped holes 66 of the secondrail 24 respectively. The J-shaped corresponding hole 72 corresponds tothe J-shaped hole 68 of the second rail 24.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, the first rail 22 of the presentinvention is mounted with a first auxiliary supporting member 100 and asecond auxiliary supporting member 200 on two opposite sidesrespectively. More specifically, the first rail 22 has a first side 23 aformed with a concave space 25, and the first auxiliary supportingmember 100 can be mounted in the concave space 25 of the first side 23 aof the first rail 22 by a fixing means such as riveting or soldering.Or, the first auxiliary supporting member 100 is movably provided in theconcave space 25 of the first side 23 a of the first rail 22 and ismounted on the first rail 22 thanks to the first rail 22 cooperatingwith the third sidewall 54 of the third rail 26. In either case, thefirst auxiliary supporting member 100 serves to increase the supportingstrength of the first rail 22. The second auxiliary supporting member200, on the other hand, is fixedly mounted on a second side 23 b of thefirst rail 22. In a preferred embodiment, the cross section of the firstrail 22 has a first thickness T1, the cross section of the secondauxiliary supporting member 200 has a second thickness T2, and the firstthickness T1 is slightly greater than the second thickness T2 so thatthe reinforced first rail 22 and consequently the entire slide railassembly 10 are not increased in thickness. The second auxiliarysupporting member 200 has a first wall 202, a second wall 204, and athird wall 206 connected between the first wall 202 and the second wall204. The first wall 202, the second wall 204, and the third wall 206jointly define an auxiliary passage 208 for receiving the reinforcingmember 58.

It can be known from the above that the slide rail assembly 10 of thepresent invention uses the first auxiliary supporting member 100 and thesecond auxiliary supporting member 200 to increase the flexural strengthof the first rail 22, and the reinforcing member 58 to increase theflexural strength of the second rail 24. Preferably, referring to FIG.10, the cross section of the reinforcing member 58 has a first thicknessX1, the cross section of the second rail 24 has a second thickness X2,and the first thickness X1 is less than the second thickness X2 so thatthe reinforced second rail 24 and consequently the entire slide railassembly 10 are not increased in thickness. This enables the slide railassembly 10 to carry a wider chassis than is allowed by its prior artcounterparts.

Referring to FIG. 11 to FIG. 13, the second rail 24 can be displacedwith respect to the first rail 22 in a longitudinal direction D. Oncethe second rail 24 is displaced to a second position P2 from a firstposition P1 with respect to the first rail 22, the first engagingfeature 36 is engaged with and secured in position with respect to thesecond engaging feature 64. More specifically, during the displacement,the end of the elastic plate 62 of the reinforcing member 58 is movedpast the inclined portion 38 of the first engaging feature 36 of thefirst rail 22. When the second engaging feature 64 of the elastic plate62 of the reinforcing member 58 reaches a position corresponding to thefirst engaging feature 36 of the first rail 22, the elastic force of theelastic plate 62 of the reinforcing member 58 drives the first engagingfeature 36 and the second engaging feature 64 into engagement. The stopportion 40 of the first engaging feature 36 can keep the second rail 24in the engaged and secured state with respect to the first rail 22.

Referring to FIG. 14, by applying a force F to the elastic plate 62 ofthe reinforcing member 58, the second engaging feature 64 of the elasticplate 62 is disengaged from the first engaging feature 36 of the firstrail 22 so that the second rail 24 can be pushed and retracted withrespect to the first rail 22.

According to the foregoing, the second rail 24 is reinforced instructure and has a functional design. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, themounting members 18 of the chassis 12 can be mounted in the holes 66, 68of the second rail 24 and the corresponding holes 70, 72 of thereinforcing member 58. To mount the chassis 12 to the slide railassembly 10, the operator begins by bringing the rearmost mountingmember 18 of the chassis 12 into engagement in the J-shaped hole 68 ofthe second rail 24 and the J-shaped corresponding hole 72 of thereinforcing member 58. After that, the remaining mounting members 18 ofthe chassis 12 can be brought into engagement in the U-shaped holes 66of the second rail 24 and the U-shaped corresponding holes 70 of thereinforcing member 58 by the weight of the chassis 12. In consequence,the chassis 12 is mounted on the second rail 24 and is securelysupported by the slide rail assembly 10.

While the present invention has been disclosed by the foregoingpreferred embodiment, it is understood that the embodiment is notintended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention. Rather, thescope of patent protection sought by the applicant is defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A slide rail assembly, comprising: a first railhaving a first side and a second side, wherein the first side has aconcave space; a second rail displaceable with respect to the first railin a longitudinal direction; a first auxiliary supporting member mountedin the concave space of the first side of the first rail; and aplurality of reinforcing segments fixedly mounted on an inner side ofthe second rail.
 2. The slide rail assembly of claim 1, wherein thefirst auxiliary supporting member is fixedly mounted in the concavespace of the first side of the first rail.
 3. The slide rail assembly ofclaim 1, further comprising a third rail, wherein the third rail has anupper wall, a lower wall, and a sidewall connected between the upperwall and the lower wall; the upper wall, the lower wall, and thesidewall jointly define a passage, in which the first rail isdisplaceable; and the first auxiliary supporting member is movablyprovided in the concave space of the first side of the first rail and ismounted on the first rail through cooperation between the first rail andthe sidewall of the third rail.
 4. The slide rail assembly of claim 1,further comprising a second auxiliary supporting member fixedly mountedon the second side of the first rail.
 5. The slide rail assembly ofclaim 4, wherein the first rail has a cross section of a firstthickness, the second auxiliary supporting member has a cross section ofa second thickness, and the first thickness is slightly greater than thesecond thickness.
 6. The slide rail assembly of claim 4, wherein thesecond auxiliary supporting member has a first wall, a second wall, anda third wall connected between the first wall and the second wall; thefirst wall, the second wall, and the third wall jointly define anauxiliary passage; and the reinforcing segments are received in theauxiliary passage and integrated to form a reinforcing member.
 7. Theslide rail assembly of claim 1, wherein the reinforcing segments areintegrated to form a reinforcing member.
 8. A slide rail assembly,comprising: a first rail; a second rail displaceable with respect to thefirst rail in a longitudinal direction, the second rail including aninner side, an outer side, and a plurality of mounting features, whereinthe inner side corresponds to the first rail; and a plurality ofreinforcing segments fixedly mounted on the inner side of the secondrail, each said reinforcing segment having at least one matchingfeature, each said matching feature of the reinforcing segmentscorresponding to one of the mounting features of the second rail.
 9. Theslide rail assembly of claim 8, wherein the reinforcing segments areintegrated to form a reinforcing member.
 10. The slide rail assembly ofclaim 8, further comprising a third rail, with respect to which thefirst rail is displaceable in the longitudinal direction.
 11. The sliderail assembly of claim 8, wherein the mounting features of the secondrail include a plurality of U-shaped holes and a J-shaped hole, and theJ-shaped hole is adjacent to an end of the second rail.
 12. The sliderail assembly of claim 11, wherein the matching features of thereinforcing segments include a plurality of U-shaped corresponding holesand a J-shaped corresponding hole, and the U-shaped corresponding holesand the J-shaped corresponding hole of the reinforcing segmentscorrespond to the U-shaped holes and the J-shaped hole of the secondrail respectively.
 13. The slide rail assembly of claim 9, wherein thereinforcing member has a first length, the second rail has a secondlength, and the first length is substantially equal to or slightly lessthan the second length.
 14. The slide rail assembly of claim 9, whereinthe reinforcing member has a cross section of a first thickness, thesecond rail has a cross section of a second thickness, and the firstthickness is less than the second thickness.
 15. The slide rail assemblyof claim 9, further comprising an elastic plate extending transversely,and at an angle, from the reinforcing member toward the first rail; thefirst rail having a first engaging feature; the elastic plate having asecond engaging feature, wherein the first engaging feature is engagedwith the second engaging feature when the second rail is displaced froma first position to a second position with respect to the first rail.16. A slide rail assembly for mounting a chassis to a rack, wherein theslide rail assembly is configured to be mounted on the rack via a pairof brackets, the slide rail assembly comprising: a first rail having afirst upper wall, a first lower wall, and a first sidewall connectedbetween the first upper wall and the first lower wall, wherein the firstupper wall, the first lower wall, and the first sidewall jointly definea passage; a second rail displaceable with respect to the passage of thefirst rail, the second rail having a second upper wall, a second lowerwall, and a second sidewall connected between the second upper wall andthe second lower wall; and a reinforcing member fixedly mounted on thesecond sidewall of the second rail, the reinforcing member having afirst length, the second rail having a second length, the first lengthbeing substantially equal to or slightly less than the second length;wherein the reinforcing member wherein the second rail has a pluralityof mounting features, the mounting features include a plurality ofU-shaped holes and a J-shaped hole, and the J-shaped hole is adjacent toan end of the second rail; has a plurality of reinforcing segments andincludes a plurality of U-shaped corresponding holes and a J-shapedcorresponding hole, and the U-shaped corresponding holes and theJ-shaped corresponding hole of the reinforcing member correspond to theU-shaped holes and the J-shaped hole of the second rail respectively inorder to be mounted with mounting members arranged on a lateral side ofthe chassis respectively.
 17. The slide rail assembly of claim 16,wherein the second sidewall of the second rail has an inner side and anouter side, the inner side corresponds to the first sidewall of thefirst rail, and the reinforcing member is fixedly mounted on the innerside of the second sidewall.
 18. A slide rail assembly, comprising: afirst rail having a first upper wall, a first lower wall, and a firstsidewall connected between the first upper wall and the first lowerwall, wherein the first upper wall, the first lower wall, and the firstsidewall jointly define a first passage, the first upper wall of thefirst rail has an inner side provided with an upper supporting strip,and the first upper wall of the first rail is provided with a firstnotch; a second rail displaceable with respect to the first passage ofthe first rail, the second rail having a second upper wall, a secondlower wall, and a hole; and a plurality of reinforcing segments fixedlymounted on an inner side of the second rail; wherein the uppersupporting strip is provided with a second notch corresponding inposition to the first notch of the first upper wall of the first rail,the first notch and the second notch correspond to the hole of thesecond rail, and the upper supporting strip is configured to support thesecond upper wall of the second rail.
 19. The slide rail assembly ofclaim 18, wherein the first lower wall of the first rail has an innerside provided with a lower supporting strip for supporting the secondlower wall of the second rail.
 20. A slide rail assembly to be mountedwith a chassis, wherein the chassis has a lateral side arranged with aplurality of mounting members, the slide rail assembly comprising: afirst rail having a first upper wall, a first lower wall, and a firstsidewall connected between the first upper wall and the first lowerwall, wherein the first upper wall, the first lower wall, and the firstsidewall jointly define a first passage, the first upper wall of thefirst rail has an inner side provided with an upper supporting strip,and the first upper wall of the first rail is provided with a firstnotch; a second rail displaceable with respect to the first passage ofthe first rail, the second rail having a second upper wall, a secondlower wall, and a plurality of holes; and a plurality of reinforcingsegments fixedly mounted on an inner side of the second rail; whereinthe upper supporting strip is provided with a second notch correspondingin position to the first notch of the first upper wall of the firstrail, the first notch and the second notch correspond to one of theholes of the second rail to allow one of the mounting members of thechassis to be mounted in the one of the holes of the second rail, andthe upper supporting strip is configured to support the second upperwall of the second rail.
 21. The slide rail assembly of claim 20,wherein the first lower wall of the first rail has an inner sideprovided with a lower supporting strip for supporting the second lowerwall of the second rail.